Hispanic Showdown Brews In Ward Race

January 06, 1986|By John Kass and Cheryl Devall.

State Rep. Juan Soliz (D., Chicago) is expected on Monday to announce his candidacy in the 25th Ward special aldermanic election, a move that could pit him against a Hispanic candidate backed by Mayor Harold Washington, according to Soliz`s campaign manager.

Soliz stopped short of declaring his intentions at a community meeting Sunday night, but said afterward that it is a ``very, very strong

possibility`` that he will run for the seat now occupied by Ald. Vito Marzullo.

The campaign between Soliz, who switched his political allegiance from Washington to regular organization Democrats, and his likely opponent, Juan Velasquez, a deputy commissioner in the Department of Streets and Sanitation, could be representative of the larger battle for the critical Hispanic vote between opposing factions of the local Democratic Party as the 1987 mayoral election nears.

``Let`s just say it`s 99.9 percent sure that Juan will announce on Monday,`` his campaign manager, Frances Sandoval, said Sunday. ``He`s the only Hispanic who can constructively criticize the mayor and has a 100 percent voting record on the mayor`s legislation in Springfield.``

Before he began to sever political ties with Washington in 1983, Soliz had argued that Hispanics should refrain from aligning themselves with any political camp. Instead, he had said, they should broker their votes to assure support for Hispanics and for issues that best serve the constituency.

``I`ve been put against the wall by everyone as to what side I`m on,`` he told 75 listeners from the largely Hispanic Pilsen community. ``It`s really very clear what side an alderman should be on: the side of the people. That`s the only side I will be on.``

Soliz added that ``we can`t afford the luxury right now of shutting the door on anyone. Keep in mind that in this life, particularly in the political arena, no man walks alone.``

The 25th Ward, once a regular Democratic stronghold under the stewardship of Marzullo, who is not seeking reelection, is one of seven wards recently redistricted by U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle to increase black and Hispanic voting strength.

The results of the March 18 special elections in the 15th, 18th, 22d, 25th, 26th, 31st and 37th wards could swing control of the City Council to Washington.

Hispanics stand to control three new wards, the 22d, 25th and 26th, when the aldermanic elections are held. The 31st Ward is represented in the council by Ald. Miguel Santiago, a political opponent of the mayor who is firmly lodged in the current 29-member majority bloc.

A shift in power in just four of the seven wards would result in a 25-25 split among aldermen, granting Washington the decisive tie-breaking vote, and would virtually cut the strength of council opposition that has been led by Ald. Edward Vrdolyak (10th), chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party.

Soliz, 36, an attorney from Pilsen, began his political career in Chicago as a bitter opponent of the regular Democrats. But in the past three years, as Soliz began to frequently criticize Washington on Hispanic issues, he was eased out of the mayor`s circle of Hispanic allies and has accepted financial help from Washington`s enemies to retire campaign debts.

And because Soliz accused the mayor of moving too slowly in advancing Hispanics in the early days of the administration, he has said that neither he nor his workers were given important jobs.

In 1982, Soliz, then a confirmed independent and opponent of the regular organization, lost his campaign for the General Assembly as a result of what his supporters called political sabotage. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners ruled that Soliz`s candidacy was invalid because his address on nominating petitions was not the same as the address at which he was registered to vote.

His opponent in that primary, eventually elected state representative, was Marco Domico, who is the current 25th Ward Democratic committeeman. Although Ald. Marzullo, the 88-year-old dean of the City Council, has been the nominal head of the ward`s regular organization, it has been Domico who has long held the actual power among precinct captains in the ward.

In 1984, Soliz defeated Domico in the primary, and the regular organization threatened to field an independent Hispanic candidate in the general election. Soliz then sought a truce with Domico and ran unopposed.

According to a Democratic Party source, Domico, who will be seeking another term as committeeman, is not expected to oppose Soliz`s aldermanic campaign and could lend some organizational support to his aldermanic candidacy. Soliz said Sunday night that he will not run for committeeman.